West African ports are increasingly strained due to swift market growth, increasing Asia-Africa trade, and global geopolitics. Container traffic at African ports has grown almost 50% in the last ten years, further increasing congestion and exposing weaknesses related to unstable power supply and restricted hinterland connections. Efficiency gains from significant investment are not even. Labor productivity is an area of weakness due to hand-to-mouth operations, shortage of skilled manpower, and outdated gear. These weaknesses hamper total port performance. Under these circumstances, effective performance monitoring becomes critical—not the aim itself, but a catalyst to pinpoint inefficiency so that long-term competitiveness is enhanced.
Why Monitor Performance?
Enhancing operational efficiency is vital to decreasing vessel turnaround time (VTT), a critical measure of port operation performance. VTT has a direct influence on shipping schedules, cost, and supply chain reliability. Decreased turnaround time allows ships to meet tighter schedules, increasing predictability and reliability of cargo delivery schedules. Higher cargo velocity through efficient ports lessens the chances of delay and reduces inventory levels for effective management. Improved operational efficiency is possible through greater berth and crane productivity, less congestion on the yards, more efficient planning, and more effective resource deployment. For example, berth planning and quay crane planning can greatly reduce the time for vessel departures. By concentrating on these, terminal operators not only enhance the quality of service to shipping lines but also their competitiveness in the shipping business.
How is Performance Monitored at AGL?
Performance at Africa Global Logistics (AGL) is monitored at two levels:
Globally: Through a centralized reporting framework known as ZIWA. ZIWA offers Day-1 operational data for all AGL terminals, subject to the capabilities of the Terminal Operating System (TOS) installed in the terminal and the available IT infrastructure. ZIWA is mainly utilized for post-operational analysis so that teams are in a position to evaluate the key measures of their performance. Data exploration, analysis and the creation of performance reports and dashboards are done using tools such as Excel and Power BI (and formerly Tableau).
Locally: Larger terminals have advanced reporting capabilities and real-time local dashboards. Medium-sized terminals commonly use native TOS dashboards for the real-time tracking of operations. For instance, the VSOPE WEB module has been implemented in the OSCAR TOS at the Abidjan Terminal to provide enhanced real-time tracking of the movements of containers and operational productivity. Smaller terminals commonly use manual procedures, retrieving data from systems and running them through Excel worksheets.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Based on my experience at AGL and knowledge gained from literature research, I have learned that successful performance monitoring in container terminals relies on the following key performance indicators (KPIs), which can be split into two categories: quayside and yard-side metrics.
Quayside KPIs
- Berth Productivity (BMPH): Container moves per hour during berth time (from arrival to departure), indicating overall terminal performance during a vessel’s stay.
- Vessel Productivity (GMPH): Container moves per hour during vessel operations (from first move to last move), reflecting the efficiency of cargo handling.
- Crane Productivity (CMPH): Container moves per hour per crane during crane operations (from first crane move to last), highlighting equipment efficiency.
- Berth Occupancy Rate: % of time a berth is occupied, serving as an indicator of berth availability and potential congestion.
- Vessel Schedule Reliability: The adherence of vessels to their scheduled arrival and departure times, impacting supply chain predictability.
Others:
- Crane Utilization: How efficiently cranes are utilized across vessel operations, based on factors such as operational time against idle time.
- Mean Move Between Failures (MMBF): The average container moves between equipment breakdowns, crucial for planning maintenance and ensuring operational continuity.
Yard-side KPIs
- Dwell Time: The amount of time containers spend in the yard waiting before pickup or delivery, influencing the utilization of yard space and cargo flow.
- Truck Turnaround Time: The amount of time that a truck is in the terminal yard, from arriving to departing, for the pickup or delivery of containers, affecting gate productivity.
- Yard Equipment Utilization: How effectively yard equipment (RTGs, reach stackers, etc.) are utilized during yard operations, considering factors like operational time versus idle time.
- Yard Occupancy Rate: % of yard capacity in use, providing insights into space availability and potential congestion.
This list is not exhaustive These are simply a few common examples used within the industry to measure productivity. At AGL, we utilize most of these KPIs, though they are not all critical to our business operations.
Data Quality and Governance
In today’s data-driven environment, high-quality information is the key to effective performance measurement and quality decision-making. Accurate, complete, reliable, and consistent data are critical to enable efficient planning, competitiveness, and customer satisfaction for organizations. Low data quality, on the other hand, can generate misleading information, operational inefficiencies, and erroneous strategies.
As a Port Operations Analyst at AGL headquarters, I interact with data on a daily basis to inform top management with actionable insights. Ensuring the accuracy of data before analysis is paramount. But in a centralized reporting platform, data quality is challenging to maintain. Some terminals lack consistency and integrity in data input and validation at the point of origin, specifically at the Terminal Operating System level. As much as headquarters has introduced auditing measures, the overall data governance throughout the network is in the initial stages of maturity.
Conclusion
Performance monitoring is indeed an indispensable aspect of decision-making at the container terminal. But in West Africa, the challenge of real substance is not so much monitoring or measuring. Some empirical research points to the high influence that human capital has on port efficiency. For example, research reports that container port traffic has a positive influence on the level of employment, implying that human resource investment may promote operational efficiency.
Our experience in the field highlights the urgency for enhanced work conditions, quality training programs, investment in youth, and a people-centric culture of continuous improvement. Training and development are critical; research has demonstrated that successful training programs result in enhanced staff performance and service quality in port operations. Further, youth employment issues in Sub-Saharan Africa are addressed through the quality of education and training to enhance the productivity of youth.
Monitoring is a function, but the human element is the true driver of performance. Empowering the terminal staff and providing an atmosphere that fosters growth, and accountability can help terminals maintain the sustained improvements in their performance and address the long-term needs of a competitive global trade environment.
References:
Africa Global Logistics. (n.d.). Abidjan Terminal deploys new digital technology to improve operational efficiency. Retrieved from https://www.aglgroup.com/en/abidjan-terminal-deploys-new-digital-technology-to-improve-operational-efficiency/
Lebow, D. (2021). The data quality report: Why bad data costs companies millions. Precisely. Retrieved from https://www.precisely.com/resource-center/analystreports/1639152057-lebow-precisely-report.pdf
Shipuniverse. (n.d.). Port infrastructure and its impact on ship turnaround time. Retrieved from https://www.shipuniverse.com/port-infrastructure-and-its-impact-on-ship-turnaround-time/
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The Business & Financial Times. (2025, March 17). Maritime goldmine: Unlocking the 24-hour economy to transform ports, trade, and security in West Africa (Part 1). Retrieved from https://thebftonline.com/2025/03/17/maritime-goldmine-unlocking-the-24-hour-economy-to-transform-ports-trade-and-security-in-west-africa-part-1/
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VOA News. (2024, March). African port growth hindered by poor road, rail networks, report says. Retrieved from https://www.voanews.com/a/african-port-growth-hindered-by-poor-road-rail-networks-report-says/7827490.html
World Bank. (2014). Youth Employment in Sub-Saharan Africa. Retrieved from https://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/424011468192529027/pdf/840830v20REVIS0ll0Report0ER0English.pdf
Yeo, G.-T., Shin, S.-H., Park, J.-H., & Kim, H.-J. (2024). A Study on Digital Transformation and Port Logistics Performance. Journal of Manufacturing Systems, [Article in Press]. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1366554524000462
Yuen, K. F., Zhang, A., Lee, G., & Lam, J. S. L. (2024). The impact of container port development on employment in African countries. Journal of Shipping and Trade, 9(1). https://jshippingandtrade.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41072-024-00166-z
Zondi, S. (2019). Impact of Training and Development on Employees’ Performance: A Case Study of Durban Container Terminal. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330682815_Impact_of_Training_and_Development_on_Employees’_Performance_A_Case_Study_of_Durban_Container_Terminal
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